We all know how important SEO is. Our clients need to be found, but once our clients get a visitor they must convince them to invest. With a B.A. and M.A. based on Psychology, I look at things a little differently when working for clients:

• How do we create trust?
• How do we please the visual learner and the non-visual learner?
• What needs to be said to convince a user to spend their money?

I feel that offering SEO is not enough; we must help our clients make the sale. How can they get a return on their investment if they bring in visitors but never make any money? So where do we start? Trust…

How Do We Create Trust?

Attractiveness - 1st Step in Creating Trust
First, think about what makes you trust a site to start. An attractive site does matter. Have you seen all those little experiments on TV where they send in a very attractive woman that is less qualified and a less attractive woman that is fully-qualified for a job interview, and the attractive woman gets the job?

In our society attractiveness sells, whether it is a person, a car or a web site. I am picky with sites. A modern site makes users trust the site a bit more. An attractive, modern-looking site means that the company has the money to keep their site updated and must be good at what they do. If they have the money for that, they are more trustworthy than a site that looks very dated. From a personal perspective, if a site wants me to enter my credit card, they better make me feel secure. Attractiveness matters and it is the 1st step in creating trust.

A User-Friendly Site- 2nd Step in Creating Trust
Many people tell me being user-friendly has nothing to do with trust. Well, it kind of does because if people can’t easily find what they need, they become frustrated with the site and essentially the company that created the site. A negative feeling is created. They will most likely make a decision that the site is too hard and go look elsewhere. Trust is broken and you may never get the chance to get that trust back. A user-friendly site supports the feeling of trust.

The Web Copy – the 3rd and Most Important Step in Creating Trust
I have written several times about selling through a computer screen. It really isn’t that easy. Web copy needs to be user-friendly as well. I see a lot of “optimized” sites that use headlines with keywords…that is great, but does it help a visitor scan a page and determine if what they are looking for is on that page? Google tells us that the user experience should be our priority and it should. I scan headlines and anyone that knows anything about writing knows that headlines can sell or destroy.

Web copy should:

• Help visitors easily learn about products and/or services
• Sell the company as the only choice, not in a narcissistic way, but in a subtle “we are the best and here is why” way. It is a web site’s job to convince the user that the company is not only the best in their field, but trustworthy.
• Educate- the copy needs to educate the user. You never know if someone coming to your site is completely ignorant or an expert, so cover the entire spectrum.
• Have informative headlines that break down the copy and allow people to scan. It is a good copywriting method and an effective SEO tool.

Give the User Something – a Helpful Step in Creating Trust (but not all clients will take the time)

Those of us in Internet marketing understand how useful and effective blogging is. I recommend blogging for clients because they can create informative articles for current and potential clients, but if I have a client that just isn’t going to do it I help them create a series of informative articles for the site. Helpful, tip-driven, articles give something to the user and can easily create trust (and is great for internal linking).

Some other things you can give users is free shipping, coupons, a free shirt…if Rand would offer free SEOmoz t-shirts for “whatever,” I would do it . I live in the ones I got at SMX (hint, hint). I like my pool company because I can pay online and get money back for referrals. They are giving me a time-saver and a chance to make money. I like SEOmoz because they give me a ton while I am here and I “trust” them. By giving something that costs you nothing (or maybe a little), you can create trust.

How to Please the Visual and Non-Visual Learner

The visual learner is obviously going to like photos, videos and an attractive site, but they often like to read something as well. Auditory learners will also enjoy the videos. Long articles, such as this article, won’t please them. Short paragraphs with informative headlines will.

My opinion of a non-visual Web learner is one who isn’t convinced by photos or videos or even effective headlines. They want to read the nitty-gritty. They want you to prove in writing why they should bother with your company at all. When I mentioned above covering the entire spectrum of visitors in your copy, this is why. Some people want to be convinced strictly through text. I know many execs that have their assistants print out the text of a site to read; they may never even visit a site. You have to find a way to please them all.

What Needs to Be Said to Convince a User to Spend Their Money?

It may seem that I already answered this question, but let me say a bit more. No one is an expert at everything.  People visit sites to determine which business to use, which service to use or which product to buy.

If Business "A" merely says “We offer these services…” , but Business “B” says “We offer these services and here is a rundown of what they are (remember, cover the spectrum) and here is why we are the only company to choose,” company B will most likely make the sale.

We all know the economy is bad. Right now people need to be truly convinced to let go of their precious and limited money. What your clients think needs to be said is often wrong. They are usually appealing to those that are experts in their field. You have to also appeal to those that are trying to figure things out. Help them understand and you create trust. When you create trust you have a better shot at making the sale and that is what our clients need to survive, right?

SEO is just flat out fun for me; I love it, but I enjoy hearing clients say how much more money they are making even more.